Chiwetel Ejiofor and Sebastian Stan Join THE MARTIAN; Ethan Hawke to Play Chet Baker in BORN TO BE BLUE

Ridley Scott just scored two more industry heavyweights for The Martian, 12 Years a Slave star, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier‘s Sebastian Stan. They join Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Michael Pena, Kate Mara and Sean Bean in the November 25, 2015 release about an astronaut who winds up stranded on Mars. Filming is set to begin in Budapest this November.

In addition, we also just got word that Robert Budreau’s Chet Baker biopic, Born To Be Blue, began filming in Ontario with Ethan Hawke leading as the legendary jazz trumpet player. Carmen Ejogo (The Purge: Anarchy) and Callum Keith Rennie (Battlestar Galactica) also have roles in that one. Hit the jump for more on both films.

According to Deadline, Ejiofor will play Venkat Kapoor, the Director of the Mars Mission. Damon is set to lead as an astronaut who gets stuck on Mars after his crew mistakenly comes to believe he’s dead. Bean recently claimed the role of a NASA flight director, but Pena, Mara, Chastain and Wigg’s roles are all still unconfirmed. EW is also reporting that Stan is on board and that Halt and Catch Fire‘s Mackenzie Davis is officially in as well. Scott called the project “quintessential Robinson Crusoe” while producer Simon Kinberg added:

“This is one of those movies that’s had a blessed life. Every actor is doing it for significantly less than their normal fee. It’s a real labor of love.”

The Born To Be Blue news comes from Deadline. That report claims that the Budreau-penned script will cover Baker’s rise, fall and resurgence as well as the romantic affair that “changed the way he played music and helped him on the road to redemption after his self-destructive ways had seemingly destroyed his career.”

Apparently Hawke has been involved in the development of the project for a bit. Jennifer Jonas and Leonard Farlinger are producing for New Real Films, Budreau is doing so on behalf of his company, Lumanity Productions, and Jake Seal of Black Hangar Studios is in as well. K5 International is taking care of the foreign sales and will bring Born To be Blue to buyers at the American Film Market this November.

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